His hands tighten slightly around the steering wheel.
And he keeps driving.
CHAPTER 20
Cliff
Why isn’t he stopping?
The question creeps into my mind slowly, but once it’s there it refuses to leave. My heart sinks a little deeper with every second that passes. After everything that’s happened these past few days, I’m not sure who I’m supposed to trust anymore. The question creeps into my mind slowly, but once it’s there, it refuses to leave. Something in me starts to shift. What if I got it all wrong? What if I’ve been looking in the wrong direction this entire time?
My breath falters as the thought settles in, heavy and unwelcome. I turn towards him, my voice quieter than I expect.
“Lucien… why didn’t you stop where my car was parked?”
“Sera,” Lucien says suddenly, his voice breaking through the silence like a crack of thunder. “Do you really think after everything you’ve told me… I’m going to let you go back to that house?”
I turn to look at him.
“Lucien, I—”
The words stop halfway out of my mouth.
Because he’s right.
If Dominic did this…
If he’s capable of hurting Sophie…
Then I don’t know what he’s capable of anymore.
And I don’t know if I’m safe near him.
The car continues down the dark road, neither of us speaks for a while. The silence feels fragile, like the wrong sentence might shatter everything between us. Being near Lucien makes something inside me settle. Like the world finally makes sense when I’m sitting next to him.
Like I belong here. But I can’t think like that. We can’t be together, he didn’t tell me the truth before and I’m still married. The thought makes my breath shallow. I shake it away before it can grow into something dangerous.
Lucien’s voice cuts through the quiet again.
“We need to call the police,” he says firmly. “We need to tell them everything.”
“Wait,” I say quickly. He glances at me. “We need evidence,” I continue. “Real evidence.”
Lucien suddenly slows the car and he pulls over to the side of the road. The engine idles as he turns to face me fully.
“What more evidence do you need, Sera?” he asks.
His voice isn’t angry.
But it’s intense.
“You found her scarf in his drawer,” he continues. “The woman is missing. Your husband had bloody hands when he came home.” He shakes his head slightly. “He has something to do with this. And you know it.”
“Lucien, I—”
He just looks at me. Not impatient, not cruel, just tired.
“Sera,” he says softly. “You’re staring straight at the truth.” His voice lowers slightly. “And it’s breaking my heart watching you pretend you don’t see it.”